Women should have this much sex to ‘avoid early death’, study finds

New research suggests women should have a certain amount of sexual activity to “avoid an early death”.

A titillating new study shows that women can live longer if they have sex more often — thanks to the heart-healthy benefits of doing the deed.

The research, recently published in the Journal of Psychosexual Health, found that females aged 20 to 59 who had sex infrequently — less than once per week — were at a 70 per cent increased risk of all-cause mortality.

In comparison, women who had sex more than once a week, were found to have lower levels of a protein linked to inflammation, which can cause damage to healthy cells, tissues and organs.

Researchers at Walden University in Minnesota, analysing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data of 14,542 American adults over the age of 20, concluded that women could benefit from enjoying intimate relations more than once every seven days, according to the New York Post.

Women who have sex less frequently could be at an increased risk of mortality, new research suggests. Picture: iStock

“Sexual activity,” the authors wrote, “is important for overall cardiovascular health, possibly due to reduction of heart rate variability and blood flow increase.”

The team also found that depression, when combined with low sexual frequency, also resulted in a higher risk of mortality.

Depression in sexually active people, however — specifically women — had far less harmful effects, lead author Dr. Srikanta Banerjee told the Mail Online.

“The theory would be that depression affects men in different ways than females,” he said.

“Depression is something that leads to more increased mortality due to health outcomes,” the medical expert added, musing that endorphins released by sex could be the key to preventing negative health outcomes.

“So perhaps sex is more effective because of the severity of how depression impacts females.”

Where women could benefit from more sex, however, it seems men might benefit from less.

Researchers found that too much sex could increase men’s mortality risk by six fold, compared to women.

“This shows that sexual frequency interacts with gender to increase mortality,” they wrote.

“The implications are that by addressing sexual frequency, other health disparities can be addressed more directly.”

Researchers also found a possible link between depression and sexual activity. Picture: iStock

Luckily, most Australians are having sex once a week or one-to-two times per month, although those aged 18-29 are having slightly more, research conducted by news.com.au’s 2023 Great Aussie Debate found.

Almost one third report having sex more than twice a week.

Tiredness, stress, having full and busy lives impacts desire for most couples, especially those with kids.

Unsurprisingly, most people with kids are managing an average of one-to-four times a month.